5-21-07, 9:47 am

'Supporting The Troops' And Suppressing A National Discussion

Of all the slogans that are used to stifle opposition to America's aggressive foreign policy, the most infamous is 'Support Our Troops.' At once after dispatching its massive force across the Atlantic, the American 'public relations industry' threw this phrase into the public forum. [1] A scheme undoubtedly contrived for the effect it would have, the American public began probing itself for those who did not 'support the troops.' The intended effect of suppression took root and all discussion about America's fighting force was off the table. A national discussion about the composition, effectiveness, or readiness of America's armed forces was, therefore, absent. It was a three-pronged plot to asphyxiate opposition, divert people's attention, and drum up support for the war policy.

Accordingly, those who feared being accused of not 'supporting the troops' became subservient to an empty slogan; a slogan that was supposedly a verbal display of admiration for those who volunteered to put their lives on the line so that others did not have to. [2] The population became immersed in a squabbling match, which continues today with no end in sight, about who 'supported the troops' and who did not. Even more, Jingoists came out of the woodwork and slapped magnetic ribbons on their vehicles with the empty, suppressive slogan, 'Support Our Troops,' to show their devotion to keeping their mouths shut about their nation going to war. It was a genius plan with impeccable timing. However, out of all the consequences—intended or unintended—to have come out from this ruse, one of the most disastrous has been the suppression of a national discussion about the reality of America's 'all-volunteer' fighting force.

Economic Forces Behind The 'All Volunteer' Fighting Force

Undoubtedly there are many patriotic individuals who seek to genuinely defend the United States. Hence, they choose to join the armed services. However, not all of the men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces are enlisted by choice. In fact, a large portion is not. Though the media figure heads would have people believe otherwise, with their talking-points about the 'all-volunteer' fighting force, many people do not join the armed services because they want to; they join because they have to.

The United States, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, stands as 'the most unequal among advanced industrialized nations.' [3] The gap between the rich and poor in America is enormous with a 'scale of poverty among the poorest… comparable to that [found] in parts of the Third World.' [4] The domestic economic system, which has been immensely restructured in the past seven years, is currently running at full capacity to benefit 'a tiny minority,' while the general population is feeling the effects of 'downward mobility.' [5] In March the Commerce Department reported that 'the share of national income going to wages and salaries in 2006 was at its lowest level on record, with data going back to' the year of when the Great Depression began. [6] It also noted that the 'share of national income captured by corporate profits, in contrast, was at its highest level on record.' [7] With massive corporate profits and huge tax cuts for the rich that have redistributed the country's wealth in a way never before seen, working wages have steadily 'stagnated or declined.' [8] The proliferation of '[l]ow-wage jobs, houses under foreclosure, and the inability to afford food and medical care' has led to experiences of plight across the spectrum. [9]

The priorities in the 'New American Century' are obvious; the swelling poverty rate says it all. [10] The proportion of 'Americans who are living in severe poverty has reached a 32-year high,' as 'millions of working Americans are falling closer to the poverty line.' [11] Moreover, 'the number of severely poor Americans' has grown more than '26 percent' since 2000; millions are living in severe poverty. [12] It is no wonder that the United States has the 'second worst newborn death rate' in the developed world. [13] That is, equal to that of Malaysia. [14]

If all this was not enough, the Center for Disease Control recently released a report titled 'Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January – September 2006.' It concluded that at the time of the interview nearly 45 million people of all ages were uninsured, 31 million had been uninsured for more than a year, and 55 million had been uninsured for at least part of the year prior to. [15] Hence, not only is a steady amount of the population going without healthcare, there is also a steady fluctuation of individuals being able to acquire 'partial coverage' part of the time.

Education And Enlistment

In February the New York Times reported that 'the most recent test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly known as the national report card,' showed 'that American 12th graders are… performing worse in reading' than they have in the past ten years. [16] Moreover, 'performance in reading has been distressingly flat since 2002 and only about 35 percent of 12th graders are proficient in reading.' [17] Hence, 'a majority of the country's 12th graders have trouble understanding what they read fully enough to make inferences, draw conclusions and see connections between what they read and their own experiences.' [18]

According to the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, approximately '1 in 3 high school students in the Class of 2006 [did] not graduate.' [19] In California alone, the 'graduation rate dropped to [a] 10-year low… as a third of the Class of 2006 left without a diploma,' according to Department of Education numbers. [20] If this was not enough, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology publication, National Review, recently reported that a study conducted by Michigan State University political scientist Jon D. Miller found that '216 Americans are scientifically illiterate.' [21] The report noted that this is a dangerous situation for a democratic society 'that assumes a baseline of citizen knowledge,' where only 'a cadre of elites knows and understands the essentials of the science that underpins [its] civilization. [22]

The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law in 2002, emphasizes 'testing rather than education.' [23] Inquiry and discovery, the heart of human progress, is greatly lacking in the classroom. Requirements for teaching the youth how to do, instead how to think, are abundant in the curriculum. Educators around the country have been persistent in pointing out that the act's concentration on standardized assessment is part of the problem in the plight of the public school education system, the dumbing-down of new generations of Americans, and dwindling graduation rates. [24] Yet, the current administration claims it to be a policy for the improvement thereof.

All together, Americans are facing an economic downward spiral and an ever increasing struggle to survive and feed their families. Moreover, young, poorly educated Americans (by way of legislation), with or without a high school diploma, are facing an unforgiving, fast-paced, technology-based society and have very limited options and/or no direction. Hence, enlistment appears to be the only viable option. In other words, they are forced to volunteer for the 'all-volunteer' fighting force, as it provides relief from the despair and uncertainty they face. The 'modest but steady wages, the guaranteed housing allowance, the solid retirement plan and the health benefits of the armed forces' is appealing when the rest of society is moving 'in the opposite direction.' [25]

The Power Differential And Recruitment

The armed forces is comprised of many individuals 'who commonly join up to advance themselves' in light of the dismal alternatives presented to them. [26] These alternatives include: 'difficult job searches, little or no job security, regular pilfering of retirement funds by company executives and their accountants, 'privatized' medical care, bad public elementary education, and expensive higher education.' [27] Hence, there is eventual enrollment, attributable to miniscule prospects in the civilian world, by 'those to whom other channels of advancement are often blocked.' [28]

Knowing this, divisions of recruiters are dispatched by every branch of the armed forces to scour the country in search of those looking to escape the depressing alternatives before them. Hence, this is where the funneling of those less fortunate, ignorant, and lost into the armed forces begins. At malls, sporting events, community gatherings, residences, and public school grounds recruiters disseminate their message of the 'benefits' of 'volunteering.' Additionally, millions are spent on a public relations campaign and creative ways to lure people, especially the youth, into signing up. [29] Pro-war films, commercials, decorated t-shirts, toys, video games, and Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps are used to make enlistment appealing and life in the armed forces a place where one can be all one can be in substitution for a world where one seems like one is nothing. [30]

Some have been keen to point out that 'despair is the most powerful force driving' movements within American society that promise better alternatives. [31] Conscription is no different. Facing blocked avenues and having a 'deep pessimism about the future,' individuals are forced to turn towards the offered benefits and 'financial security' of the armed forces. [32] Hence the use of 'creative ways' to draw in, even re-draw, recruits amid a war that is 'stretching ranks to their limits' and pushing America towards imperial collapse. [33]

The surge of desperation, degradation, and economic hardship endemic in American society goes unreported in the media. In addition, the armed services' desperate need of more recruits for a quagmire with no end in sight is cloaked through creative tactics of appeal. These factors combined allow for the façade of an 'all-volunteer' fighting force. Politicians, jingoists, and media figures exploit this to, in the words of the President, 'catapult the propaganda' that the American fighting force is saturated with nothing but genuine volunteers who had plenty of other choices in life; that they gave up their pursuit of the American Dream to protect the American Dream. The offensive, political, and fabricated use of the death of the professional football player turned soldier, Pat Tillman, was the most blatant case for the exploitation of this myth. [34]

Socialism And The U.S. Armed Forces

Though there are those who are driven by 'patriotism, sense of mission, camaraderie, pride and 'adventure',' many individuals do not join the American fighting force to actually fight, or even desire to go to war. [35] They join because of the socialistic nature of the institution. [36] While the armed forces are having trouble reaching recruitment quotas amidst an un-winnable war, they are managing 'retention… at record levels.' [37] Hence, people already in the armed services have a firm understanding that 'a civilian world that seem[s] ever more unwelcoming and unreliable' awaits them and that the 'military cocoon' is just the opposite. [38] Perceiving enlistment as a certain, quick, and harsh path towards death in the deserts of the Middle East, civilians who have not yet tasted the socialism of the armed forces are being pulled in the opposite direction of the slower, callous, and uncertain path of destiny that awaits them in the American landscape. Yet, this still does not stop individuals in the ever increasingly abundant and desperate American population from signing, and re-signing, up. [39] For them, it is 'a matter of balancing risk.' [40]

The choices for the American people, especially the youth, today are grim. They are a people with little options who face exportation of jobs and economic disintegration, and are funneled towards conscription. This is a product of America's insolence towards dealing with its domestic problems and reliance on war and violence for survival. Yet, Americans continue to hear, even have come to believe, that enlistees are people with many options; that they have chosen the route of national defense and preservation of the American way of life so that others do not have to.

None of this is to diminish the bravery of those in the armed forces. Nor is it to chide them. It is merely to highlight the fact that while America claims to have an 'all-volunteer' fighting force—a perception which the state has created, exploits and perpetuates—reality speaks to the contrary.

If America is going to maintain the assertion that it has an 'all-volunteer' fighting force, then it should at least come to terms with itself. Americans need to realize that the more desperation there is at home, the more citizens that will join. The more citizens that join, the bigger fighting force America has. The bigger fighting force that America has, the more subject it is to misuse by an establishment with imperial ambitions.

If the richest country in the history of the world were to live up to its creeds, even applied the socialism it provides in the armed forces to its entire society, it would have a smaller fighting force which could not be propelled into war in such an expeditious, criminal and immoral manner. Perhaps the world's hyper-power would then use its armed forces as a means for real defense, as the rebel leaders who founded the nation had intended, and not for attacking defenseless states for profit. America's cleaning up of its perilous domestic situation would be a start to overcoming its reliance on militarism for survival.

Domestic Policy Is The Key To 'National Security'

The more one buys into a narrow, sacrosanct, empty phrase like 'Support Our Troops,' the more one sanctions the current environment of national plight in America, and therefore aids the perpetuation of the status-quo. It only serves America's move towards hegemonic breakdown. Supporting the right to life, security and peace for all in the war ravaged countries of Iraq and Afghanistan, even around the world, is what matters. Leaving foreign populations to evolve within the confines of their own culture and environment, only aiding them when they genuinely ask for it, is what should be supported. Bringing the men and women home from the overseas meat grinder created by America's attempt to conquer the Middle East and resolving the grotesque problems it has at home—a swelling Third World scale poverty rate, a Malaysian level infant death rate, destruction of the middle-class, suppression of the lower class, racism, uninsured citizens, an eroding education system, exportation of jobs, homelessness, a cruel tax system, dwindling and gutted domestic relief services, and much more—is what should be supported.

© Copyright 2007 by AxisofLogic.com. Link to original.

George Aleman III is an MA student in History. He is also a writer, activist, and musician. He lives in San Diego, Ca.

Sources

[1] Chomsky, Noam. 2002. 'Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda.' p. 26. New York: Seven Stories Press.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Smith, Sharon. 2006. 'Subterranean Fire: A History of Working-Class Radicalism in the United States.' p. ix. Chicago: Haymarket Books.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Chomsky, Noam. 2006. 'Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy.' p. 243. Metropolitan Books: New York; Press, Eyal. Monday, April 23, 2007. 'The New Suburban Poverty.' The Nation. ( http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070423/press).

[6] Aron-Dine, Aviva. Thursday, March 29, 2007. 'SHARE OF NATIONAL INCOME GOING TO WAGES AND SALARIES AT RECORD LOW IN 2006: Share of Income Going to Corporate Profits at Record High.' Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. ( http://www.cbpp.org/8-31-06inc.htm).

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Press, Eyal. Monday, April 23, 2007. 'The New Suburban Poverty.' The Nation. ( http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070423/press).

[10] Ibid.

[11] Pugh, Tony. Thursday, February 22, 2007. 'U.S. economy leaving records numbers in severe poverty.' McClatchy Newspapers. ( http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16760690.htm).

[12] Ibid.

[13] Green, Jeff. Wednesday, May 10, 2006. ' U.S. has second worst newborn death rate in modern world, report says.' CNN. ( http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/parenting/ 05/08/mothers.index/).

[14] Smith, p. ix; Chomsky, Noam. 2006. 'Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy.' p. 243. Metropolitan Books: New York .

[15] Cohen, Ph.D., Robin A. and Michael E. Martinez, M.P.H., Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics. 'Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January – September 2006.' Report Released on Saturday, March 3, 2007. ( http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/ earlyrelease/insur200612.pdf ).

[16] Editorial. Tuesday, February 27, 2007. 'A Bad Report Card.' The New York Times. ( http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0613FB355A0C748EDDAB0894DF404482).

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid.

[19] Chaddock, Gail Russell. Wednesday, June 21, 2006. 'US high school dropout rate: high, but how high?' The Christian Science Monitor. ( http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0621/p03s02-ssc.html).

[20] Tucker, Jill and Nanette Asimov. Saturday, May 12, 2007. 'Graduate rate is lowest in 10 years.' The San Francisco Chronicle. ( http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/12/MNGIMPQ12P1.DTL).

[21] Duncan, David Ewing. Wednesday, February 21, 2007. '216 Million Americans Are Scientifically Illiterate.' Technology Review. ( http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/duncan/17535/).

[22] Ibid.

[23] Chomsky, Noam. 2006. 'Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy.' p. 227. Metropolitan Books: New York.

[24] Tucker, Jill and Nanette Asimov. Saturday, May 12, 2007. 'Graduate rate is lowest in 10 years.' The San Francisco Chronicle. ( http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/12/MNGIMPQ12P1.DTL ); Darling, Beverly. Monday, June 5, 2006. 'Graduating Empire.' World News Network ( http://archive.wn.com/2006/06/04/1400/andhrapradeshnews/ ); Chomsky, Noam. 2006. 'Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy.' p. 227. Metropolitan Books: New York.

[25] Fiore, Faye. Sunday, May 21, 2006. 'Amid War, Troops See Safety in Reenlisting.' Los Angeles Times ( http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimes173.html).

[26] Johnson, Chalmers. 2006. 'Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic.' p. 70. Metropolitan Books: New York.

[27] Ibid.

[28] Johnson, Chalmers. 2004. 'The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic.' p. 60. Metropolitan Books: New York .

[29] Ibid., p. 110.

[30] Ibid.; Boje, Ph.D., David M. Sunday, January 26, 2003. 'Recent History of Militarism Recruitment.' South Bay Mobilization. ( http://www.justthinkfirst.org/myths_recruiting/ RecentMilRecrtmntHist.pdf).

[31] Hedges, Chris. 2006. 'American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America.' p. 46. Free Press: New York.

[32] Ibid., p. 44; Fiore, Faye. Sunday, May 21, 2006. 'Amid War, Troops See Safety in Reenlisting.' Los Angeles Times . ( http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimes173.html) .

[33] Fiore, Faye. Sunday, May 21, 2006. 'Amid War, Troops See Safety in Reenlisting.' Los Angeles Times . ( http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimes173.html).

[34] Tuesday, May 24, 2005. 'President Participates in Social Security Conversation in New York.' Speech given at Greece Athena Middle and High School in the Athena Performing Arts Center in Greece, New York. The White House. ( http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050524-3.html ).

[35] Fiore, Faye. Sunday, May 21, 2006. 'Amid War, Troops See Safety in Reenlisting.' Los Angeles Times. ( http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimes173.html) ; Johnson, Chalmers. 2004. 'The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic.' p. 99. Metropolitan Books: New York.

[36] Johnson, Chalmers. 2004. 'The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic.' p. 99. Metropolitan Books: New York .

[37] Saturday, March 10, 2007. 'Pentagon Having Trouble Recruiting New Troops to Serve in Iraq, Afghanistan.' Associated Press via Fox News. ( http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258142,00.html); Fiore, Faye. Sunday, May 21, 2006. 'Amid War, Troops See Safety in Reenlisting.' Los Angeles Times. ( http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimes173.html ).

[38] Fiore, Faye. Sunday, May 21, 2006. 'Amid War, Troops See Safety in Reenlisting.' Los Angeles Times . ( http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimes173.html) .

[39] Lobertini, John. Wednesday, December 13, 2006. 'Despite War, U.S. Military Recruiting Way Up.' cbs5.com (kpix tv: San Francisco). ( http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_347211058.html ).

[40] Ibid.